Phungling. The buffaloes and yaks in the Kanchenjunga Conservation Area of Taplejung have been insured.
The buffalo and the yak are insured after being severely damaged by wildlife attacks. It is said that the wild yak has been insured through the livestock insurance program after the wild animals kill and eat the yak in the Kanchenjunga Conservation Area.
Jiten Limbu, the program assistant of the Kanchenjunga Conservation Area Management Council, said that 875 buffaloes were insured in the last fiscal year.
He said that Chauriyak was insured in collaboration with the World Wildlife Fund and the Kanchenjunga Conservation Area Management Council. Animal husbandry is the main occupation of the mountain communities in the Kanchenjunga Conservation Area at an altitude of 3,500 meters to 5,000 meters above sea level.
Sachin Hellok, the program assistant of the Kanchenjunga Conservation Area Management Council, said that the insurance program has been launched to provide relief to the animal keepers as wild animals kill and kill domestic animals in the conservation area.
Four snow leopard sub-committees have been formed in the conservation area. The committee has been given the responsibility of monitoring the snow leopard. Pema Sherpa, the Ghunsa Snow Leopard Sub-Committee chairperson, said that the committee also takes care of Naur, which is considered the food of snow leopards. He said that the yak=chauri has been insured through the livestock program as the snow leopards prey on the chauri-yak.
For ensuring a thief or yak, a premium fee of Rs. 300 has to be deposited in the committee's fund. According to Limbu, there is a rule that the premium paid by the animal insurance premium will be refunded with interest within three years.
Faktanglung Village Municipality-7 Olangchungola Snow Leopard Sub-Committee for Animal Insurance Rs. 21 lakh 69 thousand 53 is deposited in the fund. Nupu Sherpa, chairperson of the sub-
He said that a rule has been made to deposit Rs. 100 per animal in the fund of the committee. A sum of Rs 1.586 million has been deposited in the Snow Leopard Sub-Committee in Yang for livestock insurance. According to the Kanchenjunga Conservation Area Management Council office, 400 buffaloes have been insured in the area. Finjo Sherpa, chairman of the committee, said that the premium fee of Rs 55 should be deposited in the committee's fund for insuring the snow leopard in Yang.
Similarly, Rs. 2,452,652 has been deposited in the Sirijanga Village Municipality-7 Yamphudin Snow Leopard Sub-Committee, said Jiten Limbu, Program Assistant of the Council. He said that the committee had insured Chauriyak in the past but did not renew it in the fiscal year 2077-78. Limbu, a program assistant, said that the evaluation committee monitored the insured animal and killed it if it was eaten by a snow leopard.
The Kanchenjunga Conservation Area Management Council has stated that the livestock insurance program has been launched to provide some relief to the livestock keepers even though they have suffered huge losses as the snow leopards, which are on the world's rare list, have been attacking the animals in the mountainous region since the past. Chairman of the Kanchenjunga Conservation Area Management Council, Khagendra Fembu, said that there is a plan to make it more effective to facilitate the livelihood of every community in the Himalayan settlements.
He said that the livestock insurance program of the breeders will be taken forward in collaboration with the insurance companies. He also informed that there is a plan to work in collaboration with Taplejung Animal Hospital in the coming days and discussions are underway for cooperation. He said, "The insurance amount is being paid only if the snow leopard kills it now." But in the coming days, insurance is planned to be paid if all kinds of wild animals cause damage to the buffalo.
The price of a yak ranges from Rs 90,000 to Rs 110,000, but locals complain that it is not known how often wild animals come and kill it. According to Chairman Fembu, there used to be yak and chauri herds up to the Kanchenjunga Himal base camp in the area. He said that the farmers left him because of the wild animals.
"Until a decade ago, every household had a barn," he said. "Now, generations of occupations are on the verge of extinction." Residents of the area, who have been selling ghee, churpi, and chamar, are now engaged in the tourism and hotel business and are looking for alternatives.
If the snow leopard causes damage, the farmer gets Rs 8,000 for insurance. But the farmers complain that the relief is not enough. 'When a yak dies, the loss is up to one lakh. However, only Rs 8,000 is available for insurance, this amount can be settled on paper ', says the farmer,' Insurance is only in name. '
